“The Old Young Crow,” an American/Japanese short film directed by Liam LoPinto, took top honors at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, winning Best of the Festival along with a $5,000 cash prize, the festival announced Sunday.
The win makes LoPinto’s film one of five from the festival that now qualify for the 2024 Academy Awards.
Other Oscar-qualified shorts from the Palm Springs ShortFest include: “Way Better” from Lithuania, winner of Best Animated Short Film from director Skirmanta Jakaitė; “Will You Look at Me” from China, winner of the Best Documentary Short Award from director Shuli Huang; the French film “Sèt Lam”, directed by Vincent Fontano, won the award for Best 15-minute Live Action Short Film; and the Spanish “Mystic Tiger”, winner of Best Live Action Short Film of less than 15 minutes by director Marc Martínez.
Winners received a total of $25,000 in prizes in categories judged by industry luminaries, festival organizers and journalists. Read on for the full list of winners.
Oscar qualifying awards
Award for the best of the festival – The winner received a $5,000 cash prize courtesy of Harold Matzner, Immediate Past President of the Palm Springs International Film Society
Jury: Angel An (VP of Acquisitions, Roadside Attractions); Kiva Reardon (VP of Film, PIE); Clay Pruitt (Head of Programming, Impact Distribution, Impact Distribution, Seed&Spark)
Winner: The Old Young Crow (Japan/US), Directed by Liam LoPinto
Special Mention: 48 Hours (Iran), Directed by Azadeh MoussaviSpecial Mention: Away (Hungary/Belgium/Portugal), Directed by Ruslan Fedotow
Best Animated Short Film – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Geoff Marslett (Animator/Director/Writer/Producer); Irene Soriano (Writer/Cinema Curator); Gabe Van Amburgh (film programmer and senior manager, SXSW)
Winner: Way Better (Lithuania), Directed by Skirmanta Jakaitė
Special Mention: Ashkaska (Spain/Argentina), Directed by Lara Maltz
Special Mention: Eeva (Croatia/Estonia), Directed by Lucija Mrzljak and Morten Tšinakov
Best Documentary Short – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Eugene Yi (Director/Editor/Writer, Free Chol Soo Lee); Maria Santos (Funds Program Officer, International Documentary Association); Opal H. Bennett (Producer, US Documentary | POV Shorts)
Winner: Will You Look At Me (China), directed by Shuli Huang
Special Mention: Birdsong (UK/Laos), directed by Omi Zola Gupta and Sparsh Ahuja
Best live action short film of more than 15 minutes – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Colin West (Writer/Director, Linoleum); Kate Mason (filmmaker); Rosa Morales (Associate Artist Development Manager: Narrative Programs, SFFilm)
Winner: Sèt Lam (France), Directed by Vincent Fontano
Special Mention for Acting: Brenda Cullerton in Endless Sea (USA), Directed by Sam Shainberg
Special Mention: The Newt Congress (Switzerland/Germany), Directed by Matthias Sahil and Immanuel Esser
Best Live Action Short Film of 15 Minutes or Less – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Albert Lee (Film Literary Agent, CAA); Liz Cardenas (Producer/Filmmaker, Ten to the Six Pictures); Lizzie Shapiro (Producer, The Space Program)
Winner: Mystic Tiger (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez
Special Mentions: I Have No Legs and I Must Run (China), Directed by Yue Li
Student Short Film Awards:
Best Student Animated Short and Best International Student Short: Each winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Christine Davila (Head of Development and Production, Ojalá); Florentina Almonte (Content Acquisitions Executive at Shorts TV International); Lauren López de Victoria (Film producer)
student animated short
Winner: The Rainbow Dung Beetle (USA), directed by Ellen Moway and Cole Dupzyk
International Student Short Film
Winner: A Dead Marriage (Poland), Directed by Michel Toczek
Special Mention: Between Her (Israel), Directed by Bar Cohen
Best US Student Short and Best Student Documentary Short – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Parker Hill (Writer/Director, Cusp); Francis Román (Senior Programming Manager of the Film and TV Festival and Leaders, Short Film Programming at SXSW); Lauren Shelton (Law Line Film Group)
US Student Short
Winner: SULAM (Ladder) (USA), directed by Noam Argov
Special Mention: Invasive Species (USA), Directed by Annie Ning
Student documentary short film
Winner: Kaamoksen Valossa (Finland), Directed by Niko Väistö
Special Mention: Still Waters (United States), Directed by Aurora Brachman
Special Jury Awards:
Best International Short Film – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Matthew Takata (Assistant Director, International Work of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute); Valerie Castillo-Martinez (Filmmaker); Ugo Obioha (Agent, UTA)
Winner: Soleil de nuit (Canada), Directed by Fernando López and Maria Camila Arias
Special Mention: Infantry (Spain), Directed by Marc Martínez
Special Mention: Nocturnal Burger (India/USA), Directed by Reema Maya
Best US Short – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Aitch Alberto (Writer/Director and NYT Best Selling Author); Arbi Pedrossian (VP, 20th Digital Studio); Kristen Lopez (Film Editor, The Wrap)
Winner: Closing Dynasty (USA), directed by Lloyd Lee Choi
Best Comedy Short Film – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Fawzia Mirza (Filmmaker, Signature Move); Katie White (Producer, Best Summer Ever); Kyle Jaeger (Manager, 2AM)
Winner: Flail (USA), directed by Ben Gauthier
Special Mention: Pennies From Heaven (USA), Directed by Sandy Hong
Best short LGBT+ – Each of the winners received a cash prize of $500.
Jury: Apoorva Charan (Producer, Joyland); Andrew Carlberg (Producer, Skin); Sam Feder (Filmmaker)
Winner: Blond Night (Canada), Directed by Gabrielle Demers
Winner: Burial of Life as a Young Girl (France), Directed by Maïté Sonnet
Special Mention: An Avocado Pit (Portugal), Directed by Ary Zara
Best Midnight Short – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Nick Romano (Creative Executive, 18hz); Sarah Lash (Senior Director, Acquisitions at Condé Nast Entertainment); Coral Wright (Team Manager of The Spectacle TV on Netflix)
Winner: Nian (USA), directed by Michelle Krusiec
Special Mention: Transport of Animals (Argentina), Directed by Iván Bustinduy
Special Mention for Performance: Raphaël Quenard in Meantime (France), Directed by Guillaume Scaillet
Mozaik Bridging Borders Award – The winner received a cash prize of $1,500.
Jury: Keely Badger; Arameh Etemadi; Vladek Juszkiewicz; Deborah Kolar; Vera Mijojlic; Chale Nafus; Ramin Niami; Bijan Teherani.
Winner: Fata Morgana (Germany/Syria), Directed by Daood Alabdulaa
Special Mention: Border Talks (Germany), Directed by Jonathan Brunner
Special mention: I see them flourish (Spain), directed by Nikita Gibalenko
Special Mention: The Kidnapping of the Bride (Germany), Directed by Sophia Mocorrea
Local Jury Award – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Jury: Diana Acosta; Marcos Garcia; Joan Heeter; Athalie LaPamuk; kathy kaye retarded
Winner: Under Gd (USA), directed by Paula Eiselt
Special Mention: Teacups (Australia/Ireland), Directed by Alec Green and Finbar Watson
Young Filmmakers Award – The winner received a cash prize of $1,000.
Winner: We Were Meant To (USA), directed by Tari Wariebi
Special Mention: Amara and Ry’Shauna (USA), Directed by Kate Cohen and AD Freese
Special Mention: Ivalu (Greenland/Denmark), Directed by Anders Walter and Pipaluk K Jørgensen
Children’s Choice Award – Each of the winners received a cash prize of $500.
Winner: Canary (Canada), Directed by Pierre-Hugues Dallaire and Benoit Therriault
Winner: Mushka (USA), directed by Andreas Deja